Smiles
by OretaTsubasaDe
Summary: Ozuma knows he likes Mariam but of course, she's oblivious to it. But when Mariam tells Ozuma she's going out at Max's request, Ozuma has to bring himself out to let her know about HIM.
1. Going Out

Disclaimer: I doubt any of us own Beyblade…

Well, y'know that feeling you get when you watch something or a certain song plays and you get an idea? Yeah, that's what happened.

* * *

Sighing, I sit on top of one of the boxes in the warehouse. I freely let my left leg hang over the side while I prop my right leg so that my knee is upright and lean a lazy elbow on it. 

"Ozuma, I'm gone. Gonna settle something with Rei," the olive-haired younger brother of Mariam waves a hand at me nimbly, pulling the hood on his cloak over his head and runs out the door.

I close my eyes lightly. I don't even see why Joseph bothers wearing the hood since he's been harassing Rei for a while now. I place my left hand on my left leg, grasping the knee a bit. I don't understand why I'm so tense.

"Ozuma!" a cool feminine voice calls from above. Of course I know that voice; I'll never forget it, never hate it.

I open my eyes, managing a cool stare to give to her, "Yeah, Mariam?" I ask, a bit nervously. I've had a small crush on her even before the elders assigned us to the mission. No one would believe how happy I was inside when she was assigned to be on my team. Then, over time, the crush just grew and as much as I tried to deny that I had feelings for her, she could never stay out of my head for very long.

Mariam sends down a smirk from the stairs she's standing on. I've never seen her smile, except in the presence of food, of course, but she's never even smiled sincerely for anyone; it's always a smirk of some kind. Even during Beyblading and she's winning, she smirks, never smiles. And truthfully, I've wanted to see her smile, or better yet, _make_ her smile. Now, I just gave up denying I like her. I know I like her, and that's that. Okay, so maybe I don't like her... Ilove her.

"We have any food yet?"

My eyes blink in bewilderment, giving her an odd stare, "Um, yeah," I jerk a thumb over to another one of the crates a few feet from my left, on which are placed four sandwiches and a water bottle. Why I failed to get four water bottles questions even me.

A happy expression lands on her face and she jumps down to get the food items. I watch, staring at her and finding myself entranced with her movements and with her. She races over to the crate and once she's there, she clasps her hands together in anticipation.

"Wow! And you got the kind I like, too!" she picks up two sandwiches at the same time, taking bites into the one in her left hand.

I stare at her with a questioning look on my face, ignoring the urge to smile warmly at her. Reluctantly, I look away from the violet-haired girl, staring down at the ground before me, trying to think about something that _isn't_ related to Mariam. That is, until I see a red-clad foot come into my view, just to my left.

I look up, turning my head slightly to the left, seeing Mariam's pair of emerald eyes staring down at me. I blink inquiringly at her. I notice that the sandwich that was supposed to be in her left hand was gone, while there was a full one in her right hand.

"Do you want yours, Ozuma?" Mariam asks, holding the sandwich in her right hand to me.

"Uh," I utter out, my jaw slightly open, "What happened to yours?" I ask. I mentally hit my head for asking that. Of course she ate it! How stupid can I get? Ugh, stupid Ozuma! Stupid, stupid Ozuma!

Mariam raises a light violet eyebrow at me, "I ate it, Ozuma," she says flatly. Then she hands on her hips, and does something that scares even me. She leans in _real_ close to my face, but her eyes are observing my expression, looking for something, I'm assuming.

She puts on a curious look, "Did you switch places with Dunga or something?" she asks, straightening her posture and looking down at me.

I try my hardest not to blush, so I put on an upset look and shake my head, glaring at her, "Of course not, Mariam." I answer a bit firmly. She gives me a disbelieving look and I tremble a bit inside, although I, myself, don't know why.

"Okay, so you want your sandwich or not, Ozuma?" Mariam asks again, obviously annoyed that she's being stalled from her food.

I jump off my crate, "No, it's okay. I'll…just eat Dunga's…" I walk over, hovering my hand over one of the sandwiches, feeling that Mariam's eyes are watching me from behind. I pick up the sandwich which I dubbed Dunga's, turning around to find that Mariam was sitting on the crate across mine, her slender ivory legs crossed gracefully and her left hand pushing against the edge of the crate, making her left shoulder raise a bit as she's happily eating away at her sandwich with…her eyes closed. Okay, so I didn't feel Mariam's eyes watching me, but something inside me tingled when I went, like I wasn't supposed to make an idiot of myself while she's around.

Nervousness… it floods itself through my systems when she's around me, and I can't stand it. I go back to the crate I was previously sitting on, resuming the same position and taking small bites from the edge, staring at Mariam, and luckily for me, her eyes were still shut. And for some reason, I smile at her, although she can't see me, I feel that I just can't help _but_ smile at her.

Perhaps getting a feeling that she's being watched, Mariam opens her eyes and catches me off-guard, "Were you just smiling?" she accuses, raising one of her lavender brows at me and putting a weirdly lost look on her face.

I don't see what the big deal is. I know that she doesn't smile, but I know that I do all the time…right? "No," I retort, taking a bigger bite from my sandwich than I had previously.

She pouts just a bit, "Aw, and I thought I actually saw you smile at me…you're always such a grouch about our stupid mission." She says carelessly.

W-What? She did not just say that… Not knowing how to answer that, I get off the crate, going over to find my cloak. Mariam jumps off her crate and watches me.

"Ozuma?" she asks gently, knowing that she crossed a line with that comment. I ignore her, knowing that I'll have to hit myself later for ever ignoring someone like Mariam, but I manage to get myself in my cloak, then smooth out some wrinkles in the front, "Where're you going?"

She seems concerned… it didn't seem like her, 'Away from you' I wish I could say that to her, but I just can't bring myself to do it, "Out…" I reply curtly, although she's behind me, I lower my head and close my eyes.

"Tyson again?" she assumes with a slightly annoyed tone in her voice.

I say nothing, but I bring the hood over my head, leaving her all alone in the warehouse if I go. Quickly, she manages to object, "Wait! Ozuma, I'm gonna come!"

Slightly confused, I turn around, seeing Mariam grab her cloak and run to me. And as if we're in a big hurry, she slips her cloak on like that. She even places the hood over her head.

Now I know something's wrong. Mariam hates the hood. I even hate it when she wears the hood; it conceals her hair, and I personally don't like that, but it at least gives me a prevention from touching it.

"Why?" I ask, more accusingly than curiously, "It's just Tyson. I'm sure I can handle it alone, Mariam." What am I saying? Of course I want her to come with me!

Mariam brushes her right stand from falling to much into her face, "I wanna see the looks on his little friends when you beat him."

"Uh?" I ask softly. Why is she so confident that I'll win? Is she expecting something to happen?

She eyes me accusingly, "You _do_ have a plan to beat him, right?"

She's right, I always do somehow… "Of course I do, Mariam," I reply firmly, "I have it all planned out; his overconfidence with breed carelessness."

Mariam just looks at me, "I'll bring Sharkrash just in case…" she says a bit uneasily. I take it that she doesn't believe me.

* * *

After a long session of running, jumping and sneaking, we find Tyson and his friends near the river side where I recall they had previously had a small picnic. Mariam remains to my right. I lower my hood, because I figured; if we're just going to spy, wear the cloak and hood, spy and challenge is wear the cloak without the hood and just challenge is no cloak at all. Mariam seems to have noticed this pattern too and lowers her hood. 

For a while, we just stand on the hill above, looking down at them and I cross my arms while Mariam just places her hand on her hip like she always does.

"Hey Ozuma…" she starts. I turn my head slightly to her, "where's Joseph?"

I look downward, searching for the brunet in oriental clothes, since Joseph said he'd be challenging Rei again, but I liked to call it harassing him. I found Rei, but no Joseph. That was odd. And Dunga was on his emotional rampage, challenging Kai off somewhere.

"Let's go," I tell her, jumping down. Mariam seems to understand my concern and follows. It took a while, but then again, we picked a pretty high hill. Our shoes came in contact with the hard ground, at long last.

"Mister X!"

And as I anticipated, Tyson yells my alias to me, to mark my presence. I really wish he'd stop doing that since it gets so annoying after a while. And this annoying boy runs over to us, brandishing a fist.

"Tyson." I reply simply.

Soon enough, Tyson's other teammates run over, including that little witch with the brown hair. Max squints, and I'm assuming that he's looking at Mariam, and then he utters her name softly.

For some reason, I step in front of Mariam, but she doesn't seem to mind it. Tyson gets Dragoon out, rambling on about how he's gonna teach me a lesson or something, but I seem to have lost my taste to battle him. My main concern right now is how to get Max to stop looking at Mariam. She's just making her eyes wander around innocently, yet at the same time, uncaringly.

Since we haven't technically started a match now, it's not really considered backing out, is it? "I'm only here to find the whereabouts of Joseph." I say simply.

"Huh?" comes out of the mouths of all of them, with their jaws slightly opened in confusion. I wouldn't blame them; every time we come around, we demand a battle, but on those side occasions that Tyson challenges _me_ instead, and normally I'd agree... just to take their bit-beasts to lock them away in the stone, where they belong.

Even Mariam is confused at what I'm saying, "Ozuma, what're you…?" she begins to ask over my shoulder.

I cut her off, "I'd rather we know where all our teammates are before I battle. If not, I get distracted." I'm not telling her the whole truth though. Oddly enough, something inside me wants to find Joseph and make Mariam happy.

Mariam remains quiet, and I take it she understands. I sigh to myself, "All right, so will you tell us what happened to Joseph?" I look at them all in turn, but a fix a hard glare at Rei, knowing that he had something to do with it.

"We're not telling you anything until you fight me!" Tyson insists, getting his launcher all ready. I resist the urge to roll my eyes at his bigheadedness.

I glare hard at him and Mariam comes close behind me, "Ozuma!" she exclaims near my ear.

Feeling that I have no choice, I take out Flash Leopard with my launcher and ripcord. Snapping Flash Leopard to the launcher, I get myself in a ready position and look at Tyson who does the same. I have to time for this.

Max looks back and forth at us, "Three…two…one…"

"Let it rip!" Tyson yells out.

I merely reply with a simple yell or some kind of battle cry. I really have no time for this. My original plan was to make myself lose a bit on purpose, to get Tyson overconfident, and then he'd think the match was in the bag, until I hit him back with everything. But that would take time, time I didn't have. So, I'll just have to hit him strong and fast.

"Attack, Flash Leopard!" I yell out angrily. Tyson responds with an attack of his own. I growl a bit in annoyance, "Tyson, just tell me where Joseph is."

"Not until you lose!"

I try not to roll my eyes. At least he's overconfident. Maybe I should go back to my first plan. So Flash Leopard spins in place and Dragoon comes along to start banging into it, and I don't fight back. After a few more of that, he's weakened Flash Leopard's spin pattern a bit, but it's enough to make him cheer, smirk and drag a thumb over his lips.

Everyone behind him starts cheering and congratulating him. For what? He didn't win yet. Like I said; his overconfidence breeds his carelessness. He thinks he's got this whole match in the bag.

"Flash Leopard, attack!" I yell out, breaking their little ceremony. The once wobbly Flash Leopard straightens up and starts glowing the crimson red. I'm assuming that Tyson's used much of his power just to 'weaken' me down a bit, and I'm also assuming that he doesn't have enough to counter.

Flash Leopard slams into Dragoon, hard enough for it to get sent back to it's owner's hand. It seemed rather quick, but it's better for me. My black blade flies in to my hand and I glare at them, "Now, where's Joseph?"

All their eyes fall on Max, although I don't know why. He shifts around nervously, then he sighs, "Fine, I'll tell…you." He points a finger at Mariam.

She looks at me for a bit, but I nod my head to the blonde who grabs her wrist and pulls her off away from us. Their backs are facing us, while Tyson and the others just smile and wave cheekily at me.

They come back after a few seconds and I look at Mariam, a curious look on my face, "Well?"

She sighs. I don't like where this is going already… Nothing _upsets_ Mariam, just annoys her, and I know her well enough to know that, "I'm going out…tonight."

Ignoring the fury and anger inside me, I merely raise a brow in question, "With who?"

"You'll find out later." Mariam assures me, apparently not wanting to say while the Bladebreakers were still around. She turns, heading back for the top of the hill, her cloak flowing gracefully behind her.

I follow, but stop to send a glare back down at the Bladebreakers, suddenlyhaving a stronger hate for them. I turn back quickly, to follow Mariam. Once at the top, I ask, "Mariam...?"

She stops me, "Don't worry about anything,Ozuma." She gives me a convincing look. She turns again and begins to walk back to the warehouse.

I hesitantly follow. Although completely against it, I'm not sure I trust that tone.

* * *

End of that. 

Well, there was a lot more I wanted to put, like Ozuma's jealousy and anger while she's preparing for the date, then when she's on the date, with Ozuma eventually following her, but I wasn't sure…


	2. Not Me

Disclaimer: See previous… I'm lazy.

I know, I could've added this chapter to the previous one, but I wanted this one to be on it's own, because it's long to me. This is in Ozuma's POV...if anyone didn't realize that in the previous chapter, but I intend the whole story to be from Ozuma's POV. And the triangle begins...

There are some mentions to G-Revolution, and I know this is supposed to be V-Force, but I couldn't resist, so you might see more G-Revolution mentions later too.

* * *

Sighing, I toss my cloak over to the side, not caring where it went. Mariam has done the same, as I find her sitting charmingly on the higher level, only up because of the stairs. Her prosperous emerald eyes scan the room slowly, in a possible fear of something before they move back to look at her nails on her left hand. She lets out a soft sigh in her boredom, now leaning her right elbow on the railing.

I walk around the warehouse for a bit, wondering what's going through her head right now. I let out my own sigh, pushing two crates together and sit down on one, using the other crate to prop my feet on. I lay back, both my hands behind my head in relaxation, almost in an imitation of Brooklyn Kingston. At times, sometimes I just wish that everyone in the world could disappear so I might finally be able to be alone with Mariam without anything troubling her mind, or mine for that matter. Again, trying to finally be at peace, I close my eyes. After a long while of silence, I hear Mariam clear her throat, and her footsteps descending down the stairs until she's near me.

"Hey, Ozuma?" Mariam asks softly. I crack one eye open, looking at her angelic features above me, slightly fixed in her worry. She shifts around nervously, biting the bottom of her lip with fear. That's when I opened both eyes, staring up at her. Obviously, just looking at her isn't a good enough response as she just keeps staring at me, her face still filled with worry. She glances around unnervingly, maybe with the fear that there's someone watching us, but I'm not sure why. Joseph and Dunga are the only ones besides us, I'm pretty sure, that know where our warehouse is. Not that it's a fancy warehouse, hell, I haven't even seen a fancy warehouse, but at least it's something and I'm sure that after a while, I began to agree with Mariam that this wasn't the best place to crash. Would I ever tell her that I agreed with her? Hell, no. She might think I've gone soft on her. Then she might figure out that I like her! She's definitely smart enough to figure that out.

"Yeah, Mariam?" I'm not sure what she wants, but if it demands enough attention for me to answer her that isn't a look, then I'm pretty sure it's big.

"Can you…help me get ready?" she looks away, with a slightly shamed look on her face. I sit up, looking at her in my confusion. Why would she want _my_ help? Besides Mariam, I've pushed every girl away from me, waiting for the right moment to tell Mariam. If I haven't any experience in this dating field, why would she want my help? Her jade eyes quiver at me, _begging_ for my help, although I don't want to give it to her. I know that jealousy might take over and I might end up turning her into a total mess, but I found it impossible for Mariam to have an ugly side. Impossible…

"Uh?" I ask, my mouth slightly ajar, but I nod anyways, "Sure, Mariam," although I don't like it, she'll think I'm a real jerk if I don't, "But you didn't tell me who he is yet…" I say out of curiosity. Silently, I pray to myself that it wasn't a certain happy-go-lucky blonde with deep cerulean eyes, owner of the Black Turtle of Water, from America… I could go on with this description for a while. _Please don't be Max. Please don't be Max. Please don't be Max…_ I open my mouth in a sigh, to let out all the tension I had inside me. Breathe in…breathe out. FOR THE LOVE OF ALL THINGS GOOD, PLEASE DON'T BE MAX! There, now I feel better. Personally, I have nothing against the blonde, but it feels as though he's taken Mariam from me, and I, for some reason, find that as a perfectly good reason. But I know perfectly well that it isn't. There, integrity beats jealousy… at least I hope so, or I'm going to have a big problem.

She turns away, hesitating for a second as she brushes the violet strands of hair to her left, trying to brush them behind her ear. She utters out one syllable, which I recognize is a name. That didn't exactly help since Max, Rei and Kai had names with a single syllable. At least I know that it's not Tyson, or else I would've freaked out right there. Besides, I've seen that little click he has with Hilary, although she's quite unclear to understand. Besides Mariam, I thought that girls were just pests. I mentally hit myself again. Bad Ozuma! Don't be sexist!

"Can you repeat that?" I ask, bringing my legs to hang over the side of the crate, facing her. She's obviously hesitant to tell me. Does she think I'm going to get mad at her or something? Why would she care if I get mad, anyways? Why must she torture me like this? All I need is the name and I'll beat him up so badly. Heh, maybe he'll even beg for death. I resist grinning like an idiot at that thought. Okay, remember what the elders said; integrity over jealousy. Or was that something over something-something? Meh, my line works for me right now. _Don't kill the guy, Ozuma, don't._ I repeat to myself. Damn it, Mariam!

"Rei…" she mumbles again, walking away from me without looking back. I sigh in relief; at least it wasn't Max. But I don't understand. She's barely even spoken to him, let alone spend time near him. So then, why would Rei be the date? Does everyone know something that I don't? Sure, they were similar in appearance with their hair bound in a ponytail, (although Rei's is low on his head while Mariam's is high) with their two couple of hair strands hanging in front of their faces, only being prevented from falling into their eyes by the headband resting on their forehead. But personality-wise, I just don't see it. Mariam's quick with sarcasm and Rei doesn't seem like the type to respond to that enthusiasm, due to his quiet and shy nature. He would seem like the type of person to ignore such a thing, but politely. Rei was disciplined, Mariam is very laid-back and I have enough problems trying to get some authority into her and even with the caliber Rei has in that criteria, I don't think even _he_ could knock some control into that girl. She's a free spirit…

I nod at her, although not liking the situation at all, "Okay," was all I could think of to answer. I follow her up to the higher level. I'm not even sure if any of us would be suited for such a night, since we aren't exactly living in the rich department. We have to sit on crates for god's sake! Unless we import our stuff from the homeland, then I don't think we're gonna look that nice. She goes all the way up to the higher level which she dubbed hers, and I think I almost killed Joseph and Dunga for going in there while Mariam was out, the guys saying that they were just going to 'use her stuff'. But I think it's gotten neater. She goes over to a little corner I didn't even know existed and I find what I never thought Mariam would have…make-up and accessories. She must really like Rei enough to use all this stuff. Rei…not me.

"Ozuma…do you…" she begins, trying to fix her hair in a tall mirror. Where'd that come from anyways? Is that imported? She's been importing things without my knowledge? Why! Couldn't she at least have gotten _me_ something? Not a mirror, but something _I_ would like. Like…man! "…think Rei's a good person?" she watches me through the mirror. By the look on her face, she looks like she's wondering if I'll get mad or something. Or possibly lie. When you're making things up, you look to the left, when you're remembering, you look to the right. I bet Mariam knows that.

I raise a brow and stare at her, looking at her eyes through the mirror, "Yeah, he is." I reply, remembering when Rei stepped up to fight alongside Kai against Dunga and Joseph, despite him not having his…Drigger since we had sealed it in the rock at the time. Though, I like calling the Drigger 'the White Tiger of Gold' instead of that other name. I mean, fighting for your friends when you're at an obvious disadvantage seems like a thing for a good person to do. So yeah, I have nothing against the guy. He's cool. I just wished Tyson hadn't corrupted the poor guy with his idiocy.

Mariam turns around to face me, quite a happy expression on her face. Her beautiful jade eyes were open, slightly wider than normal, sparkling greatly and her mouth open in a cheerful expression, "Really?" she tilts her head to her right, causing some of the loose strands on her left side to fall near her eyes, "Ya think?" she asks happily. Yeah, she must really like Rei if _my_ opinion about him matters to her.

I nod, forcing a weak smile to my face, "So, what did you need me for?" I ask, trying to get out of this conversation. Sure, I like it when we talk, I just don't like it when we're talking about a guy that Mariam might like. It just feels way weird. And I might get way jealous. I bet she thought that I forgot about this little bit of information.

"Confidant." She replies simply, turning back to the mirror and grabbing a brush. Before I could ask why she chose me instead of waiting for one of the others to come back, she answers, "I need you to be my confidant because well, Joseph and Dunga aren't here. And even if they were, Dunga's no good at giving advice and Joseph's younger than me; he wouldn't know a thing about what I mean."

I fold my arms over my chest, "You shouldn't underestimate your own brother, Mariam," I say matter-of-factly, "he might surprise you."

"Whatever…" she sighs, setting the brush down.

I really don't like this, but I figured it was better than losing her to Max…happy little loveable Max of whom I would prove no competition against if the event ever came up. But then again, Rei had his own qualities that would still make me inferior further still. Either way, I lose, and I couldn't do a thing about it. My eyes wander down to the ground, wishing if I could feel like shit.

"Ozuma?" Mariam asks, looking at me through the reflection. My gaze comes back up and I feel the slightest bit of heat on my cheeks, nodding my head to show I was listening, "Can you hand me the earrings?" she waves a little hand to her right, not taking her eyes off the reflection.

I move my eyes over to my right, seeing a crate and box of earrings resting gently on them. Some of them were really nice, and I'm assuming that she was going to wear them…for Rei…not me. Not me. I let out a sigh, picking the box up and bring it into her reach. Her hand rummages through the many pairs in the box until she pulls out a pair of beaded, hanging earrings, aqua colored, possibly to match her hair.

"Thanks," she utters out, letting me put the box back on the crate. Then I wonder if Rei actually agreed with this, since Max was the one who told Mariam about it. I felt something uncomfortable drop into my stomach, and I know it's not the sandwich. I hang my head, hoping that I wouldn't have to look at her eager to be with someone else "Ozuma, are you okay?" my head shoots up, and I feel myself jump a bit, my eyes widened in shock and I feel a little embarrassed. She caught me in my saddened moment. No one was supposed to see that! Ebil!

I look away for a while, nodding my head. I don't think she's quite satisfied with my response, "……"

"Ozuma, I'm serious, say something." She demands, watching my eyes in the mirror. Her face quivers, staring at me like I might die sometime soon. Ho, I wish. She looks a bit paler. Maybe she's just nervous about her little date. Mariam didn't seem like someone who worries over a date, but I bet no one guess I was someone who would be crushing on Mariam. Maybe it was a crush, maybe it wasn't, but she made me feel different, compared to other people and especially other girls. Then again, the only girls I know besides Mariam are Hilary, that girl Tyson's crushing on and Salima, the girl on the team who's trying to duplicate and take the Four Legendary Bit-Beasts. Personally, I think there's something between her and her leader…

"……" I don't want to talk to her, if it's about someone that's going to take such an amazing girl from me. I don't want to talk, because right now, I just want to stare at her, to try to memorize her face, if it's at all possible, so that maybe I'd feel better when she's gone from me.

"Ozuma, talk to me! Say something!"

'I don't want to talk, Mariam, not about Rei, not about anything, because I'm in love with you.' I want so hard for those words to come out of my mouth, so that I wouldn't have to feel like this. I should've hit myself on the head for _not_ saying that. "……something," I finally utter out. I am so smart.

Mariam just turns around and glared at me, fixing her earring to place on her left, "I should hit you for being officially retarded, but I won't…" she goes and brings the other earring to her right ear, looking at me, then flips her lavender hair.

I'm not even going bother to answer that, because I don't think I can stand feeling like this, and the cause of it is the one I cherish most. I turn to go back down the stairs, to lay on my crates again. And once there, I do my Brooklyn Kingston impression again. I've heard about that guy. He's pretty cool, although that blue-haired singing teammate of his scares the crap out of me. Weird how they got on T.V. Weird how we _don't _have a T.V, yet I know of them. Well, maybe it's just those big T.V's they have in the street. I saw them while I was walking back as Mister X from my battle with Tyson. Yeah, that must be it.

After a while, I feel myself getting drowsier, but then I hear the footsteps of sturdy heels against the ground, "Ozuma?" Mariam calls out, looking over at me and my weird position. I close my eyes, not even bothering to see how she looks because I know she's gone and made herself even prettier than she originally was, just for Rei… I know I should respond to her, in some way, but I don't want to, because _she_ gave me this painful feeling that decided to settle itself in my chest and y'know what? I don't think it's a very happy feeling either. Ow, it hurt me… I wonder if she let her hair down…just for Rei.

For Rei, not me…

"I'm…going now," her voice sounds regretful in a sense, and almost excited in a way. I raise a hand in the air, waving it slightly. Once I hear the door close, I open my eyes and sit up, seeing the empty room. I'm _not_ going to go after her… I'd feel way too desperate, but I don't want to lose her… I _want_ to go after her, but I'd ruin everything; she'd never forgive me. She just left and I'm already going crazy. The guys would have a field day if they saw me like this. But then, I'd just beat their asses down to a pulp and that'd be that.

I lay back down, sighing again to stare at the ceiling. I should be happy that there's peace and quiet at last, but I'm not… Thoughts clouded my head. Thoughts about one person. Thoughts about a certain emerald eyed, violet haired, spunky person. And it hurt like hell. Unable to enlighten myself, I sit up, bringing my knee back up again to lean my elbow on and I hand my head. Something cold and clammy stains my cheeks. I bring my hand to wipe my cheek, finding tears. Tears! I hate tears, even if they are silent tears, I still hate them! I don't even bother to wipe them away this time.

I lean down to lay back again when the doors burst open. I immediately start to wipe the tears away, hoping that no one would be able to see me like this. Even if it is Mariam, I still don't, though I won't complain about her presence back here with me. _Please be Mariam. Please be Mariam. Please be Mariam…_ I pray to myself, sitting back upright. I stare at the door, hoping that her date with Rei went wrong and she came back. But that seemed rather quick, and I don't even care, as long as she's here with me, not Rei.

"_Ozuma!_"

Okay, that is so not Mariam's voice. But that is so Mariam's brother running over to me, with the sandy-haired Dunga following behind. The first thing that Joseph does to me, instead of our normal greeting, he punches me right across the face and I tilt my head to my right, bringing my hand to rub the bruise on my left cheek. Man, for a little guy, he packs a big punch, and I mean that literally. I stare in bewilderment at Joseph and Dunga as he comes up behind the olive-haired boy. What did I do now? I try to save them, more specifically Joseph, and the first thing he does is punch me? I am not understanding this at all. I rub my cheek a bit more, hoping that Dunga doesn't hit me too.

"What was that for?" I ask calmly, looking back and forth at them. Joseph looks like he's resisting the urge to put his hands behind his head like he always does, so instead he's putting them on his hips in an angry fashion, his face quite red. Dunga has his arms folded over his chest, glaring down at me, looking like he has the intention to kill me and his face…is just plain mad. I still give them both a lost look, wiping my right eye for any tears that I didn't wipe before.

"You know what that was for, Ozuma!" Joseph yells back, almost spitting in my face. Do they think this is some kind of joke? I seriously don't know what they're talking about, so I raise a confused brow, wondering if they would kindly explain this to me without violent. I was hurt emotionally and they had the need to hurt me physically? Dunga looks like he's going to explode with anger unless I answer while Joseph looks like he just wants to blow off some steam on something and hopefully, that something isn't me.

"No, not really." I reply cleanly, blinking innocently at them. Dunga is the first to respond to that, which I found unusual, as he grabs my arms and glares at me, hoping to get the message like that. I don't think I understand yet, but I don't like their technique. I wanted to say to them 'I like words better than fists', just to see if that'd help my situation. Up this close, Dunga's _really_ frightening. Like _really, really_ frightening. At least when he's howling for your blood. When he's on your side, then you're in luck, which is why whenever we roam, I either take Dunga or Joseph with me. Dunga for muscle and Joseph for stealth.

"You idiot!" Dunga yells into my face, shaking me frantically, "How could you do that to Mariam!" I flinch, still praying that he doesn't hit me. I think I feel my heart beating faster. Oh crap, I'm going to die…by the hands of my own teammates! This is mutiny, I say, mutiny! I clear my throat, wishing that Dunga took a mint or gum or something, because I think I'll die of the awful smell rather than his fists if I stay like this for very long. Which is worse, I really have to wonder.

Really, I never thought Dunga even care about Mariam, but still, they're not making things any clearer. Still, I remain silent, still giving them a blank look. Joseph looks downright pissed now and Dunga, my the feeling in my arm, if I still had some, he wants to crush me into powder, "Do what?" I did nothing bad to Mariam; I even helped her against my intentions. Everything I do for Mariam, she either approves of or is happy that I'm there! It's not a bad thing! Unlike these people who are barely there for her. More directed at Joseph, though. He's supposed to be her brother! Younger, yes, but still, he has a job to do! Why must I do it? I can't stand that I'm only her friend, but I'm also only her team leader, confidant, and now brother? I'll never get anywhere in her books if that's all I am. Well, most people are only friends. I have four under my belt. I rock! Well, not really, since, although I feel bad for having these emotions but, I want…more.

"You let her go out with _Rei_!" Joseph spat out the Chinese blader's name like poison on his tongue. But I didn't _let_ her…she wanted to go, because I saw how she liked him and how she acted while I was helping her prepare for her date, as much as it hurt me. I only did what she wanted me to do, making me kind of wish that I'd be there for her all the time, but she was the one who chose to decline my help. What am I thinking? It's my fault for not telling her that I like her in the first place. But she wouldn't like me that way…she has Rei now…doesn't she?

"Yeah, so…?" I inquire, hoping that they're going to fill in the blanks for me. I'm trying so hard not to act suspicious, so they wouldn't figure out that I like her. If they found out, they'd…well, they'd do something, and I know it's not going to be pretty. I rub my cheek again, "She wanted to go, okay?" what's Joseph going to think if he finds out that I like his sister? He's like…a little brother to me, in a sense, the way we act towards each other seems enough to prove that.

Dunga just releases his grip on me, and I fall back onto the boxes, "You're a moron, I don't know how you became our leader…"

Okay, he just crossed the line. I've had it, "What the hell are you talking about!" I start shouting back at them, "What did I do that's _so_ damn bloody wrong, besides try to finish our mission!" I think my face is turning red. At least you can't see the bruise as easily now… My hands arrange into fists by my side, glaring hard at both of them. Joseph and Dunga's expressions soften briefly, before Joseph gets upset again, raising a fist to yell back at me. Dunga, on the other hand, is just staring at me like he's just seen the apocalypse.

"Mariam's had the biggest crush on you since forever and you let her go out with _Rei_, Ozuma? _REI!_" Joseph yells back in my face, obviously not stirred by my little outburst a few seconds ago. And I was certainly not expecting that. If Joseph and Dunga knew that Mariam likes…erm, liked me, why didn't they say anything? I could've stopped this whole damn thing! Now, I'm just furious that Joseph and Dunga didn't tell me earlier. I could've told Mariam! And it was too late now! She's out with Rei!

"S-She what?" I stutter, looking at them, feeling my cheeks heat up a bit again. Joseph and Dunga exchange looks, dull looks, at that. Joseph's lost his upset expression and I could imagine why. But, Dunga, I have no clue what's wrong with him. I would've never seen this coming, because all this time, I thought she liked Max, because of the way they acted before, like when Max said he'd only tell Mariam where Joseph was, then how they were trapped in that old building, I could've sworn she liked him. I even noticed when she went soft on him and I was so hurt, since it felt like she picked him over me…

Joseph glared, "Mariam's had…" he says slowly, in hopes that I'd understand, "the biggest…crush on you…since forever." He grins at me, but it seems more like a dark grin, like he's expecting something to happen and he'll make sure it _does_ happen. I send the boy a slight glare which he replies with a smug look while I notice that Dunga's over at the sandwich crate, which I named, finding that there was only one sandwich left. Heh, I didn't know Mariam and I had eaten three…oops. Dunga brings his hand down to grab it, but Joseph races over, snatching the bread item before the taller man can.

"Hey, that was mine!" the sandy-haired behemoth declares, glaring at the younger boy, unknowing how much spit he's let out with that rant. Thank God I'm behind him so none of the saliva reached me. They're getting off subject, and I don't like that. I have to find a way to change the subject back to me and Mariam without those idiots knowing that I like her too. Unfortunately, I can't, so I merely shift around, going to grab the water bottle from the crate. Perhaps I can use that to cool off the bruise on my cheek.

"So how is it my fault she went out with Rei?" I ask cautiously. Joseph and Dunga look back at me while I walk over, taking the water bottle from the sandwich crate. I bring the bottle near my cheek to sooth the bruise, being thankful it was cold. I feel their eyes watching me, as if wanting something that they knew or thought they knew I had. I sit myself back down, holding the cold bottle in place, looking as Joseph leaps up onto a stack of crates, looking down at us while Dunga just stands around. Finally, I see one of them open their mouths.

"You…like her too, don't you?" Joseph asks back, just as cautiously as I did, possibly more. I think he fears that if he says the wrong thing, I'd do something he'd hate to him. Dunga seems to have the same idea, by the look on his face. Now, instead of looking like he's seen the apocalypse, Dunga looks like he's seen the rebirth of the world, just by looking at me. I wonder how that happened. Joseph smirks, bringing his hands behind his dark olive hair, scoffing to the side. His eyelids cover his dark forest eyes, which look like his sister's. No! I promised myself I wouldn't think about Mariam…

I remain silent, hoping that if I don't do anything, they'll be able to figure it out on their own. I look at the ground sympathetically and sadly at the same time, now wishing to myself that I really did stop Mariam from going out with Rei. I made the biggest and not to mention stupidest decision of my life and I couldn't do a damn thing about it! I hear the slight gasps of Joseph and Dunga, and I assume that they exchange a look, knowing my answer, although I said nothing.

"So…why didn't you tell her?" Joseph asks with a look in his eye I've never seen before when they open. I'm guessing that it's concern for his sister. How could've I been so stupid? I knew I should've told her earlier. I made a mistake; I screwed up. And now she's off on a date with some other guy. Willingly or not, she still went, and what's worse is that I helped her. I helped her out of my life. I'm such an idiot! I know that Joseph and Dunga won't let this go unpunished, but I can't possibly take so much blame…

I hung my head, not wanting to face their questioning eyes, "I…I didn't think she'd…" I mumble, suddenly ashamed for having such feelings.

"…like you?" Joseph finishes, raising a dark sea green brow, "She's liked you ever since you were little kids, man. Sure, I wasn't born yet, but she told me she did. She's been waiting for you to show any feelings towards her so that she'd know and tell you! But you kept yelling at her and kept being a pain in the butt, so she thought you hated her." Joseph was staring sympathetically at me, "She thought you'd never feel the same way…" he trailed off, looking away from me. Now I felt like it was my fault Joseph was breaking apart.

"Okay, I was mean to her and I yelled at her _because_ I like her, Joseph. It was a disguise, so that no one would be able to see what I really felt." I admit, glaring at him. By now, I think that Dunga's excused himself from the conversation, "Besides, I was waiting for the right moment to tell her, or at least wait until _she_ showed some feelings." I lean my elbows on my knees, fidgeting with my fingers in front of me, staring at them, in shame of myself. Suddenly, I looked at Joseph again, "Does Mariam still feel that way?"

Joseph looks at me, and then nods, "As far as I'm concerned, yes. She's the one who told Dunga to challenge Kai again and told me to go bother Rei so that both of you would be here alone…together…" He pressed those two last words into me with a drill. Now I just felt stupid. I slap my palm to my forehead, muttering curses under my breath. And I thought it was just a coincidence that both Joseph and Dunga were gone at the same time. Now that I thought about it, Mariam was so eager to go with me to challenge Tyson, and she was so eager to have me eat the sandwiches with her, she was so eager to see me smile and she probably leaned into me on purpose. She also seemed so hesitant to ask me to help her prepare for her date. _And_ she seemed defeated when she left for her date and I just lay there. The tone of her voice did tell me at least that much. She probably thought I didn't care when she left! I just lay there and raised a hand!

She did like me! Shit…

I leap off the crate, going to look for my cloak which I had tossed aside earlier. Joseph was giving me an odd look, "And where're you running off to, Ozuma?" he asks, watching me tear the place apart for my cloak back. He leaps off his stack of crates, going over to get the water bottle I took to heal my bruised cheek, "Ozuma?" he asks again, seeing as how I was ignoring him. I throw aside some empty pop cans, bottles, plastic bags, old launchers, and all that kind of stuff. I didn't even think we had this stuff. Just goes to show how much I know my temporary home. Where's my cloak, dammit?

I find my cloak finally, hanging on the railing of the stairs, "I'm going to set things straight with Mariam. If you're telling the truth, this just might end well after all." I tell him, picking my cloak up, getting ready to put it on, "I'm going to tell her how I feel. No one's going to stop me and nothing's going to go wrong." I assure them, yet I feel like I'm also assuring myself. I head for the door, when yet again; it bursts open, revealing the happy Mariam. Happy Mariam? Mariam didn't do happy…unless it was sinister happy. And guess what? I was right; she _did_ go and made herself prettier for Rei. Her hair was down, long, violet and flowing that went down to just near her thighs, even without the headband she wasn't wearing. Her dark navy sleeveless top lay just under a black open jacket with an evenly trimmed collar, the sleeves rolled up to her elbows, showing that she was no longer wearing the wristbands. And her dark amethyst skirt, which only went only half-way on her thighs, complimented her long, slender, ivory legs, wearing cerulean shoes with a bit of heel.

I panicked, I was about to run out and admit everything to her and I find her at the door looking like _this_. Damn, I'm going to kill Rei one of these days, "Uh, Mariam!" I exclaim, slightly flushing. She just blinks at me innocently. I resume my normal cold look, to not arouse suspicion, but Joseph and Dunga have assured me that Mariam does like me, so what do I have to worry about? As I open my mouth, Mariam cuts me off.

"Guys?" She asks, getting Joseph and Dunga's attention. She already had mine, so why is she looking at me like that? Does she know what I'm going to say to her? I hope so, because I feel like I'm going embarrass myself like this. But Joseph guaranteed how Mariam felt, and I still have my doubts.

"Huh?" Dunga asks, confused, apparently since he's using his low voice.

"I… I think I'm in love with Rei…" Mariam stays with a light grin. My eyes widen slightly while Joseph and Dunga glare their hardest at me, with the possible intention of using their glares to kill. There's only one expression I can think of right now;

SHIT…

* * *

There are so many references in there that it's so not funny anymore… and I wanted to make it Max/Mariam/Ozuma, but I made it Rei/Mariam/Ozuma instead, because suicidalbeyblader kind of suggested a Rei/Mariam, but I wanted to do a weird angst/jealousy thing with Ozuma. Yeah, they're OOC, too bad! 


	3. Emotional Tug Of War

Disclaimer: See previous… I'm still lazy.

* * *

Mariam gives the three of us the biggest smirk ever. And it's a happy smirk. Not the evil smirk. I glance around nervously. Joseph's snarling at me through his gritted teeth, his hands in an upset position that are ready to strangle me at any moment. Dunga's eye is twitching at me, also growling, his fists shaking at me, almost trembling. Dunga wasn't known for holding anger in.

"Guys?" Mariam asks again, seeing us all silent.

"That's _great_, Mar…" Joseph says, still growling at me, seemingly faking his enthusiasm. Joseph elbows me in the ribs, causing Mariam to raise a brow at him, then at me. I shove the boy back, then rub the spot I just got elbowed, "Really, we're _happy_ for you!" you didn't need to be a scientist to figure out that Joseph was just pretending, even more so when the he growls out the word 'happy' hard is the biggest hint, "Right_, Ozuma…?_" he elbows me again.

Mariam looks over at me and her expression changes instantly. From her happy smirk to concerned, worried agape face. She blinks a few times, and then she brings a weak fist just under her chin in concern. It was almost like she was thinking. I give a small, quick nod of my head.

"Right…" I force out a firm tone, both fists by my sides. Mariam's expression weakens a bit and her eyes quiver, the bright emerald sparkling at me, but I force out an encouraging smile at her and head for the stairs, "I'm taking a rest. Dunga's in charge and you guys had better have gotten further in the mission by the time I wake up!" I yell down, halfway up the stairs. I would normally put Mariam in charge, but right now, I'm just not sure anymore. I take a few more steps up the stairs until something calls me back.

"Uh…!" Mariam reaches a hand out to me, confused at my actions. I turn around to face her, my normal scowl on my face glowering down at her, "Ozuma?" she asks, sounding hesitant.

"_What?_"

She flinches a bit at my voice and backs away a step, "Um, never mind." She looks down at Joseph who's giving her a dark glowering look, his arms on his hips in an angry fashion. Mariam just blinks in confusion and sends me a small, weak attempt at a smile.

I scoff lightly and turn back to the stairs, "Whatever…just make sure that Draciel and Drigger are in the rock before I wake up. Joseph, you're on standby. Mariam, you're getting _both_ Draciel and Drigger, got it?" I say firmly.

Mariam gasps a bit, "What? Why me?"

"You're in rendezvous with Rei…you could get it easier than Joseph," I reply simply, closing my eyes. For some reason, I don't think I sound _too_ cruel. I could hear Mariam stuttering for something to say from behind me, "couldn't you?" I add, trying to see if she really did want to do such a thing to Rei. Like somehow steal Drigger right from under him.

"I guess so, but Ozuma--!" Mariam starts quickly, trying to bring up something that I'm assuming I _know_ I don't want to talk about. I quickly turn my head around to face her, my eyes glaring hard at her which seems to stop her. I turn back.

"Very well then…" I go all the way up the stairs and find a nice spot to sleep.

"Oh…!" I hear Mariam say gently in worry. I ignore her.

Now, mastering the art of faking sleep does have its advantages as I fake my sleep near some bags of sand…or are they flour? Who knows? I didn't look before I lay down. I shift around until I find a comfortable position. I hear the familiar squeaking of the stairs. I really have to get some oil for those stairs some time… meh, I'll do it later.

"Ozuma?" a gentle feminine voice asks. Mariam… the floor creaks a bit more as her footsteps get louder and finally, I hear her kneel down to my side, feeling her shadow looming over me, "Oh…Ozuma," She mutters down at me. My eyes clamp tighter together and let out a small grunt, turning over on my left side, accidentally facing her.

She sighs sadly at me, and in that sigh, I can sense the worry, concern and fear. I turn over on my back again, feeling a bit uncomfortable in my last position. After a while, with me still lying on my back, Mariam reaches down and winds one gentle finger in the red strand in front of my face. She plays with it gently, in hope that I won't 'wake up' and find her like this. As soon as a let out a small uncomfortable grunt, she withdraws her finger from my crimson strand and moves her other hand to pat the top of my head, to try to comfort me, and I will say that it is working.

"I'm sorry, Ozuma…" her voice is quietly sorrowful, though directed at me, I don't know what she's sorry for. I really have no stinking clue. My eyes loosen so that they aren't so clamped shut. Then for some reason, I hear more creaking of the floor and I feel breath beating down on me. What the hell is going on? I can't even open my eyes to find out or else she'll know that I'm faking my nap.

The next thing I knew, I felt a pair of warm lips pressing against my own softly. As much I wanted to yell or push her off, I couldn't; her lips were rather…silky against mine. I let out a soft groan, and of course, I can't do that without opening my mouth. For some reason, I felt her tongue tentatively meet mine. Although the kiss being soft and gentle, for sure there were noticeable sparks. She tasted like…vanilla, in a way and it intrigued me, so I ended up kissing her more.

Lips mold together and we somehow got caught up in the whole thing, despite me supposed to be subconscious to the event. A throat cleared and she pulled up. I turned over, pretending to see something unusual in my 'dream', drawing out an uncomfortable breath.

"Mariam, can I talk to you downstairs?" Joseph's voice… I recognized. He didn't sound even the _slightest_ bit disturbed at what he just witnessed, although I felt weird about it myself. Floorboards creak as Mariam gets up, walking over to her brother. The louder sounds of their weight against the steps of the stairs tell me that they've gone. Carefully, I roll over to the railing where I can look down at them. Joseph sits himself down on a crate and Mariam just stands in front of him. Told ya mastering the art of faking sleep had its advantages.

"I know you're hiding something." Joseph says firmly. Mariam tilts aback a slight bit, shifting around and playing with her fingers and her head twists around to search the room, finding that Dunga is over in a corner, throwing a fit at something else, like normal. And I'm 'sleeping' so _I_ shouldn't cause any problems.

"Hm?" Mariam brushes her hair behind her ear. She tends to do that when she's nervous, I've noticed.

Joseph just smirks at her, his head tilted in pride, "While you were…_talking_ to Ozuma in his sleep, I went to talk to the blondie…" I blink at what Joseph's saying. For a second, I didn't know what Max had to do with anything, and then I remembered that _Max_ was the one who set this whole thing up in the first place.

"What about Max?" Mariam tilts her head to the side, bringing a hand to her hip. She seems upset.

Joseph grins, "I won't tell Ozuma and Dunga about _Rei_, on just one condition." Mariam blinks at him, wondering how she's supposed to answer that. I don't even know what Joseph's talking about. I already knew about Rei, so what's the big deal?

"You tell me what Rei's got that Ozuma don't got." (1) Joseph says firmly, standing up on the crate to have better eye contact with his sister. I don't understand what he's talking about…

Mariam just glares at him, then she fiercely throws her jacket at Joseph and storms out. Joseph just stares at the door for a while, then he looks down at the jacket, then seeing Drigger in the inside pocket, Joseph gasps, "Shit…" he says in an irritated tone.

Even from up here, I saw the glimmer on the White Tiger of Gold's blade. I race down the stairs, "Way to go, Joseph…" I utter harshly, not even stopping to look at the boy and I head quickly for the door, slamming it behind me.

Someone has a lot of explaining to. Everyone knows something I don't and _someone's_ going to tell me. Someone with blond hair and cerulean eyes…

* * *

(1) – Yes, that's how I intended the sentence to be. I know it's supposed to be "…that Ozuma doesn't have" or "don't have" but this is what I wanted Joseph to say instead. Why? It's a reference to something….totally unrelated to the story, but I just needed to put that in there.

Yes, I know it's short, but try not to hit me! (I just needed this part out of the way…)


	4. Mission

Disclaimer: I don't own a thing…ever.

I know I called him Tyson before, but I got so used to calling him Takao. If anyone watches Teen Titans, you might see a similarity in the couples since I think Robin and Ozuma have the same beliefs and personalities. So I kinda based a scene on the scene in the Tokyo movie. Sorry :P (Although it's irrelevant; I'm a Robin/Terra person:D)

----------

I slouch forward, bringing my hands to rest on my knees. _Never_ has running hurt so much. Maybe it was because I had _no clue_ where the blond was at the moment. Slight whispering of curses steals my attention and I look over, seeing Mariam sitting cross-legged, ripping out grass like there was no tomorrow. Wow, Joseph must've really stirred her up. I think I can see the dirt…

"Mariam, I admire your hopefulness, but I don't think that grass will be screaming in pain anytime soon," I smirk, going over to her. She looks up at me and her eyes widen slightly, standing up and she brushes dirt from her legs.

"O-Ozuma! What're you doing here?" She demands, trying to glare hard at me, "You're supposed to be sleeping!" I notice the faintest hint of a blush appearing on her cheeks.

I sigh, rolling my eyes, "I'm here looking for the blond one and I had…an interesting dream. Does it matter?"

"No…I guess not. What was so interesting about your dream that just _had_ to wake you up?"

"Drigger…" I reply simply, though it was a pure lie, "You took Rei's blade, right?"

Mariam tilts back, her mouth trying to figure out what to say, "Well…he wasn't looking and I remembered what you said about the mission and---"

I cut her off, "So you actually did listen to me and my lectures about the mission?" I fold my arms and Mariam's mouth moves, though no sounds come out, "I thought I was an 'annoying, cruel, egotistical, pain in the ass', remember?"

Mariam blinks frantically, "Did I say that?"

"Yeah, you did," I nod, sneering slightly, "Why'd you take Rei's whole Beyblade, though? You know we just need the White Tiger of Gold…"

"I thought I could…" Mariam fidgets with her fingers, brushing her hair behind her ear, "…maybe kinda…surprise you…"

I lift a brow, "My birthday isn't for two months…"

"I know but…" Her gaze starts wandering and her voice trails. I hate when her voice trails; usually means something bad… "I thought that getting you the whole blade might make you happy…and you could smile…"

I shake my head in shame and she frowns a bit, "I don't really _do_ smiling. Unless it's an evil smile. You want an evil smile?" she shakes her head at me, "Besides, you're going about this all wrong. I'd have to get all four of their blades to smile…"

Her head perks up, "Really?"

Oh god, she really wasn't going to try to get all four of their blades to make me smile, was she? Isn't she with Rei? Why is she so focused on making me happy?

"_Mariam's had the biggest crush on you since forever…"_

"_I know you're hiding something… While you were… talking to Ozuma in his sleep, I went to talk with the blondie…"_

See, Joseph wasn't _completely_ useless… So…what I understand by Joseph's words, Mariam still likes me and she's hiding something with her 'relationship' with Rei. And _Max_ knows why.

"Sure," I shrug nonchalantly, "And why are you so bent on making me smile?"

Mariam stares and I notice her eyes blinking worriedly, "Y-You're my best friend…you used to smile all the time. You turned into a grouch when they assigned this mission to you…" her voice sinks after 'my'. I don't understand…

"Well, then aren't you happy? Your best friend is your leader so you can trust him not to give you extra laps since you were on your date, hm?" I say with a content expression on my face.

Mariam foot rubs circles against the ground almost shyly, "I guess…"

"There we go, now drop and give me fifty!"

Her emerald eyes widen at me, "Ozuma!"

"Okay, okay…I'll do them with you, how about that?" I offer.

"Serious?"

I sigh, "If you don't want me to, you can suffer on your own…"

"No, no! It's fine, you can join," Mariam gets down and starts the pushups. I shrug and join her.

----------

I grunt, standing up. Damn, no wonder Dunga and Joseph always complain when I make them do pushups. I can't feel my arms and I'm all sweaty. How am I supposed to interrogate Max like this?

"Mariam…?" I ask, looking over at her. She's lost in Lala Land. This was just great… I can't leave her like this… What the hell is she staring at anyways? Something behind me? "Mariam!"

Still no response… Wonder what's so interesting…

"Soo…" I hum, looking into her face, "What're we looking at?"

Mariam jumps back, eyes widened. "Nothing!" came the immediate answer.

I tilt my head to the side, confused, "Really? You were so interested that you wouldn't look away…"

"It was nothing!"

I shake my head, sighing, "Whatever you say…let's go…"

----------

Joseph grins, walking up to us as we return to the warehouse. Holy shit, what did they do?

"Nothing…" Joseph smiles innocently.

Did I say that aloud? Too bad, "Then would you like to explain this…masterpiece of yours?" I can't see the floor. Oh crap, I can't see the floor. Is Dunga drunk over there? "And is Dunga drowning in his own beer bottles?"

"No?" the green haired boy chuckles lightly.

"Then why can't I see my floor?" I ask, glaring.

From behind me, Mariam crosses her arms, "_Your_ floor?"

I glare at her and sigh, "Whatever. I'm going to change. Joseph, clean this up. Mariam…" I ask, thinking of an order to give to her, "wake up Dunga."

Emerald eyes widen in shock and snickers come from the younger sibling. Mariam stammers, not wanting to do it, obviously; that's why I made her do it. That's what she gets for hiding things from me. I leave them, saying nothing more. I hear Joseph snickering to Mariam, saying "Don't go up while Ozuma's changing, witch."

What do they think I am, some freaking girl?

I shake my head, tossing my shirt into the supposed laundry hamper. Morons… But at least _I_ brought more than one outfit. I smile to myself, getting another one and putting it on.

"I'm going to bother Takao again, who's coming?" I ask, coming down the stairs.

Joseph jumps up, raising an arm, trying to get out of cleaning. Whatever, he's good at sneaking anyways.

"Fine, let's go, Joseph." I shrug, heading out the door. Mariam just stands there uneasily, putting her hands behind herself innocently, "Yes…?"

"Do I just…stay here?" she asks, trying not to be too forward, but I can sense it.

I nod, "_Someone_ has to watch over Dunga."

Mariam looks over at him and grimaces, facing back to us, "Anything else?"

"Yes…" I pause and Mariam smiles, cheering up a bit…

----------

Ow, my butt…. Stupid Takao and his pointy roof. Has he not _heard_ of simple tiling? I mean…man!

Takao grins, "So what if Mister X is mad at you, Max?" he asks, preparing his blade. Please don't tell me this guy still doesn't know my name. Oh, right; I never gave him the chance to figure it out. Well, it starts with an 'O' and ends with 'zuma', idiot. I scorn silently at Takao from above.

"Well, Joseph just said he was. I don't really know," the blond shrugs, fiddling with the green blade in his hands.

"Just forget him. Be happy that freak isn't after our bit-beasts!" Takao scoffs. Note to self; destroy Takao slowly and painfully.

"Nice of you to think so highly of me, Takao…" I smirk, jumping off the roof. Now it's gonna take a while before I get the feeling back in my backside.

Joseph jumps down with me, sending Rei a dark look. From what I've heard before, he's not the only one who isn't too fond of Rei. Something about his old team back in China.

"All right, talk!" I shout, pointing at Max, "What's going on?"

The blond, currently trembling, shakes his head at me in some sort of fear. I growl going over to hit him when I feel hands clamp onto my arms. I turn, looking at who it was. Damn Hiwatari! Stupid Mr-I'm-the-strong-slient-type-and-I'm-not-letting-anyone-get-away-with-anything.

This is where Joseph comes in handy. Wait…why can't _I_ get out of this? Ooh, look, I'm free! I look over, seeing Rei telling Kai to let go. Huh. So that brunet isn't so bad after all. But Mizuhara's gonna have to die!

"Ozuma?" Shit! Rei knows my name! My world is over. I had fun with the Mister X thing. Ah, it was good while it lasted.

"Huh?"

Rei nods in one direction, stuffing his hands into his pockets. I guess I'm supposed to follow him? He'd better not be creating a distraction so that I'll forget to beat up Mizuhara. He stops at…Takao's pond. Amazing…

"So…" Rei starts slowly, his eyes looking for things to take his attention away from me, "how's Mariam?"

"How should I know?"

"She…!" he begins, but cuts himself off, "never mind."

I glare hard, "She what?" Does he know that she took his blade?

He pauses, scanning the ground as if he'd pounce on anything he saw moving within the blades of the grass, "She likes…ice cream."

Oh wow. Since she likes any form of food, I never would've guessed. Yet she's so skinny…training conquers all!

"Oh…kay…" I shake my head, about to walk away until he calls me back, "What?"

"Nothing…never mind." Rei innocently kicks the ground, "Just don't be mean to Mariam, 'kay?"

Where have I heard that before?

_Flashback_

"_Yes…" I pause and Mariam smiles, cheering up a bit… _

"_What?" Is it or is she leaning in closer?_

_Five, four, three, two…_

"_Get those bit-beasts, woman!" I yell firmly, making her jump back a bit, eyes quivering at me. _

_I close the door and Joseph looks up at me, "Don't be so mean, man…" he scolds, "you know how she feels…"_

"_Explain Rei then." I demand, already walking away. _

_End Flashback_

"Why does it matter what I do, Kon?" I ask harshly, twisting my head back to glare at him.

"There's no point in talking to you; you're about as understanding as Kai when he's mad."

I glare downward. What's that supposed to mean?

I nod my head at Joseph, signaling that social time is over. He comes over, hiding something in his hand. I'm not even gonna ask. Probably that stupid brunette 'blonde-wannabe' girl's number. Like I said; not gonna ask. What's Rei so worked up about? Why does it even matter what I do to Mariam? Why does everyone suddenly care?

----------

Y'know, I just realized that bothering Takao is just not as much fun anymore. I watch as Joseph leaps back into the warehouse, running circles around his sister and then rushes off to where Dunga was …supposedly alive.

"Ozuma?"

I look at the girl, lifting a brow in some annoyance.

Mariam lifts up a sapphire blade. Kai's… "I'll give you this if you let me talk to you…alone." She seems…nervous.

What gave her the impression that I'd fall for something like that? But I guess it couldn't hurt. I nod, "Lead the way then." I give a small smirk.

Eagerly, Mariam drags me out. How many times do I have to back and forth?

So we take a silent walk to wherever Mariam's trying to get me to. I stop in my tracks, seeing her run over to the side of the dock, hanging her legs over the edge. She looks back at me with a questioning look on her face and nods at the empty seat beside her. I sigh, doing what she wants.

"What did you want to talk about?" I ask, staring at the clouds with sudden interest.

Mariam sighs, staring straight ahead of her, "Me…you…this…everything."

I don't like the sound of that.

"So…about Rei and the going out part…" she starts, playing with her fingers in her lap.

"What about it?" I snap.

She's leaning in… "It's just that…you're my best friend."

"I know." Wait, why'm _I_ leaning in?

"And I don't care if you like to stalk people…"

Stalk? Kai? That's it! "Stalk! I've got it! Kai can get those bit-beasts for us! It wouldn't exactly be considered failing the mission!" I exclaim, jumping back and standing up.

Mariam sighs, standing up, "Kai's not exactly eager to do that, don't you think?"

"He will if it involves kicking Takao's butt in the dish."

"Ozuma…"

I turn my head towards her, sensing what was wrong; she didn't get that kiss. "Yes?"

"Can you, for once, not think about the mission?" she pleads, stepping closer.

My eyes narrow, turning back away from her, "Our ancestors assigned us this mission and we've been chosen to carry it out. We have a responsibility and I _will_ make sure it is completed. This is who I am, Mariam. If you don't like it, tough. I'm not going to change just to make you happy."

I glance back at Mariam who was stepping away from me, trying to hide her face from me with her bangs, "But you can change to make the ancestors happy?" It sounded more like a question than a statement.

I gasp lightly, my eyes widening for a second before they narrow again, growling softly towards the ground as she runs away, wiping something from her face.

----------

I was just in an Ozuma/Mariam mood and those dialouge things just came to me when I was riding that stupid TTC... oh, and Ozuma's cool! . . .Yah. Now I gotta go; my AMV boss expects something "special" from me.


End file.
